It Hurts
by ItsMyIceCream428
Summary: Mira is bullied at school. Can a push from a never-before-realized friend help her speak out? In honour of Day of Pink! #WeAreTheChange


_**It Hurts**_

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

I groan and roll over. There's my alarm. Telling me another bad day is beginning. I pull myself out of bed and mope towards the washroom. After brushing my teeth and taking a quick shower, I head downstairs to eat. When I come back up, I head into my room. My phone is pinging repeatedly, the screen flashing to show new texts and emails. I already know what's there. But I look anyways.

**Destiny Corra: You fucking bitch, you don't deserve to be alive. Waste of space! **

**Jacqueline Matthews: No one would care if you left. Just get the fuck out of our lives and we'll be much happier.**

**Kaitlyn Ayers: Useless piece of shit, you're only good at being a waste of space. Slutty bitch!**

**Cindy Hudson: Go die already! You know no one wants you here.  
**

The hate continues on and on, each message like a stab in the gut. Sighing, I take my time getting ready and head outside. I grab my bike and start the 2-kilometre travel to school. I used to take the bus, but that invited further taunting and insults. As I pedal towards the modern building that is now my hell, I notice Destiny, Jacqueline, Kaitlyn, and Cindy. My main tormentors.

"Hey, bitch!" Destiny called out. I flinch and try to ignore her, but I can't. Her words ring in my ears. "You know honesty is the best policy, right? We _had _to tell you what was in those texts. That would've been dishonest otherwise." Her cronies laugh along, but Cindy looks somewhat uncomfortable. I hurry inside, embarrassed. Why did they hate me? I was the smart, quiet girl. I never talked to them! Then they suddenly decided, 'Oh, let's just hate on Mira now'. _Why me?_

I enter the classroom, only to be met with glares and not-so-nice gestures. As I take my seat, I notice a purple sticky note in my desk, folded artfully into the shape of a crane. Curious, I open it.

_Meet me behind the portables after school. I can help._

The words surprise me. There's someone in this school... who can help me? I look around. None of the 13-year-olds sitting around me seem to be likely candidates. Was trusting this person a good idea? I look back at the note.

_I can help._

Three words. They could be my lifeline.

_I can help._

How did I know I could trust them?

_I._

It was my only chance. To finally show Destiny, Jacqueline, Kaitlyn and Cindy that I was not a toy.

_Can._

How did I know this wasn't a set-up, though? Just a plan to humiliate me further, which I didn't need.

_Help._

I made my decision.

**6 hours later...**

I sneak around to a portable near the fence. I take a deep breath and sit against the wall of the portable. All I could do was wait. I curl up in a ball and wrap my arms around my knees, putting my head down, waiting for either my saviour or my tormentors - the Fabulous Four.

"I didn't think you'd actually show up," a voice says from somewhere. My head shoots up. Who was that? Then I notice her. Her perfect blonde hair falls in delicate waves, her green eyes wide.

"_Cindy?_"

She sighs. "Yeah. I put the note in your desk."

"But you hate me." I say automatically. Come on, she's Destiny's friend. Which one of them _didn't _hate my guts?

"I'm not a carbon copy of Destiny," she says, looking a little offended. "I hate it when she makes snide comments, or pushes you down. She bullied me once too."

"Really?" The idea of Destiny and Cindy being enemies was alien to me.

"Yeah, she called me so many mean things in elementary school... I can't help but sympathize with you."

"There's nothing I can do to stop it. She's going to be this way in high school too."

"There's one thing we can do."

"Embarrass her back?" I ask hopefully.

"No," says Cindy. "That would be stooping down to her level."

"So then what?" I ask, bewildered.

"Two words: Speak Up."

**The next day, 12:30 PM...**

My hands are sweaty. I try to dry them on my jeans, but to no avail. Then I see the Fabulous Four - or rather, the Terrific Trio - walk up to my table in the cafeteria. Destiny stands in front of me, Jacqueline and Kaitlyn flanking her like bodyguards. Destiny has a smirk on her face.

"Well, look who it is. Mira, oh, Mira. What useless shit have you been up to?" she asks, sweet as candy. But that candy is laced with poison.

"Well, look who it is here. Destiny, oh, Destiny. The girl who has nothing better to do than insult a random girl who did nothing to her." I reply. There's a gasp from almost everyone. You can hear a pin drop.

"You can talk? My god, I didn't know you were smart enough to form words with your mouth. I thought you could only do science, like addition and multiplication and all the worthless crap." Destiny snaps back, evidently pleased. I just shake my head and smile.

"Says the girl who doesn't know basic math. Kindergarteners put you to shame." This elicits a laugh from everyone. Destiny opens her mouth, but I cut her off.

"Save it, Destiny, don't make yourself seem like more of a fool then you already are," I practically order. She freezes. "Now let's cut to the good shit."

"I am tired. Tired of you. You think sending the hurtful messages, the daily insults, the shoves in the hall - you think it's fucking hilarious. Well, guess what? It's not. What you've been doing? It's called bullying. Let me spell it out. B-U-L-L-Y-I-N-G. And it's not good. Kids all over the world are deeply affected by it. The self-harm, they have lower self-esteems, they commit _suicide_ - all because some inconsiderate person made hurtful comments. People like you. They may seem like nothing to you, but it _hurts_. It _ h__urts _ to be called a slut, a bitch, a worthless piece of shit. It _hurts _to be shoved down in the halls or into the lockers. It _hurts _to look at your phone or computer and see all the hateful messages popping up. It. Fucking. Hurts.

"Let me tell you something. When I hear your name, I cringe. When I see you, I turn around. When I talk to you, I imagine all the things I can't say, but want to say. When we're in class, I imagine I'm giving you a taste of your own medicine. You deserve it. You need to know how much you made my life miserable, how you made Cindy's life miserable - you need to know. And you need to stop. Do you want to be the person who's name isn't wanted to be heard?"

There's dead silence in the Oak Street Middle School cafeteria. Then someone slowly claps. I look over and see Cindy smacking her hands together repeatedly, a smile on her face. The applause grows louder and louder. People chant my name. And Destiny?

She looks like she finally realized.

I smile for the first time in forever. **(Frozen reference right there!)**

**Four years later...**

I walk up to the stage. It's the biggest day of my life; high school graduation. I stop at the podium, clear my throat, and begin my speech.

"Greetings, fellow students, staff, parents, and family members. We are all here today to celebrate our high school graduation. But let me explain something other than how we will go forward with our lives in university and onwards.

"As a young teenager, I was bullied by a group of girls in my school. They made my life miserable. I dreaded school, I hated myself, I considered suicide. But with the help of a girl who turned out to be a friend, I stood up to them. I spoke out. I suffered in silence until that day, when the ropes that held me back were broken. I felt so good to finally have stopped it. It never happened again. I felt like I could finally smile, I could finally be happy... I could finally be free. But there are millions of children who continue to suffer. They can't speak out for the fear of being targeted, or for the torment to worsen. Children don't deserve to live in fear. We need to be able to stand up. To live without fear of school, or the days to come. As your 2018 class valedictorian, I ask of you, try to stop bullying in your lives. Stand up for you, your friend, your sibling, or a stranger! Anyone can do it. You need to find the power within you to say the words. Wherever you go, speak up. Stand up. We are the change, the ones who can stop bullying. Thank you for your time. Fellow classmates, I wish you luck wherever you go!"

There's a round of applause. I take my seat.

I think back to the days where Destiny made my life awful. Without that, would I really be here today, speaking out?

Bullies make our lives miserable. We're the ones who can change that.

**A/N This is just a one-shot I wanted to write to raise awareness about bullying. My inspiration was my school's assembly to recognize Day of Pink. Day of Pink is a Canadian national event held to encourage us to stand up to and speak out against bullying, and to discourage racism, discrimination, homophobia, sexism, ageism, etc. It all started when a boy in Nova Scotia was bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school. Instead of being bystanders, his classmates decided to stand up for him. The next day, over 100 students wore pink to school. We do this every year at school. I hope this has encouraged you to speak out and stand up. **

**I would rather be a little nobody, than an evil somebody -Abraham Lincoln**

**Reviews, etc. appreciated. I'm ItsMyIceCream428, and I will speak to ya soon!**

**~ItsMyIceCream428~**

**Also, please show this hashtag to show your support:**

**#WeAreTheChange**


End file.
